Either way, the problem is really that McCain really hasn't changed all that much. I mean in the sense that "straight talk" was always about "Hey, let's sit down and talk. And I'll give it to you straight what I'm thinking (at this moment, on this circumstance)." And everyone said wow that's great, a politician who doesn't feed me tired lines. The point of view might change over time, but that's straight talk. "I said a few months ago this, that, and the other...but I don't feel the same anymore. Here's why." But that doesn't fly when you're running for President.

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Whats worse is the quote from the socialist Obama's view.
quote "If you spead the wealth around its a good thing"

Wow, who else have these same type of words come from?

Err, I reckon you meant to spell "spread" rather than "spead" or at least that's what I'm going to assume here.

Who else has said this kind of thing? Most notably in my opinion is Warren Buffet. You may have heard he is one of the richest guys in America (well, depending on how much he's already given to charity). He is also the most modest, decent and wholeheartedly progressive member of America's billionaire club. Buffet has openly said countless times 1) the estate tax ought to be set where it was before Bush lowered it 2) the wealthy ought to be paying more taxes than they are today 3) the middle class and working class (which is really now the working poor) have not gotten a fair shake for a quarter century. But nothing he says is more poignant than the simple point he's consistently made about how deeply wrong it is for his secretary to be taxed at a higher rate than he, a multi-billionaire, is taxed.

But here's what I'd like someone to explain. When Buffet tells you and I that he thinks it's right for the rich to pay more taxes and the rest to pay less, how the hell does anyone not so fortunate to be truly rich say "thanks, but no thanks." First of all, I understand most of the rich have neither the integrity nor the courage to speak up the way Buffet has - most are simply thinking about their own self interest and nothing more and that's just human nature. But when regular folks support massive tax breaks and/or elite welfare for corporations and the richest Americans I just find myself speechless. I suppose these folks just hope they become billionaires one day and are thinking ahead so they don't get taxed too much down the road. Now that's f'ing retarded IMHO.

The U.S. Government has a right to tax it's citizens as it sees fit, but as this is true, the citizens have the right to take their wealth and leave the country if the government adopts unfair taxing practices. Obviously, a mass exodus of per capita wealth hurts the economy far more than an imperfect tax bracket system.

If/when Obama is elected president, this might be his biggest challenge in his first few months on the job. Throughout the election process, Obama has seen no issue in establishing a divide between the wealthy and the "working class". Unfortunately, he cannot be a successful president unless he can come to middle ground with the people who have most of the money.

If Obama tries to implement his reformed tax brackets without coming to a consensus with the wealthy...I think you can all see where this will lead.

Good points by The Goat on Warren Buffett, but understand that pleasing Buffett is far easier than pleasing most of the people of similar financial status. It's not the government's money he's dealing with.

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The U.S. Government has a right to tax it's citizens as it sees fit, but as this is true, the citizens have the right to take their wealth and leave the country if the government adopts unfair taxing practices. Obviously, a mass exodus of per capita wealth hurts the economy far more than an imperfect tax bracket system.

If/when Obama is elected president, this might be his biggest challenge in his first few months on the job. Throughout the election process, Obama has seen no issue in establishing a divide between the wealthy and the "working class". Unfortunately, he cannot be a successful president unless he can come to middle ground with the people who have most of the money.

If Obama tries to implement his reformed tax brackets without coming to a consensus with the wealthy...I think you can all see where this will lead.

Good points by The Goat on Warren Buffett, but understand that pleasing Buffett is far easier than pleasing most of the people of similar financial status. It's not the government's money he's dealing with.

Good post. I do think this will be a challenge, but remember that whatever Obama wants he must get through Congress. My guess is that you'll get some provisions helping upper bracket folk there--pushed by dems in the Senate (surprise, surprise, both sides care about rich folk!)--at the cost of a (hopefully) temporary swelling of the deficit. I doubt that there will be a mass exodus: there's still too much money to be made, even at 39%. We had rates WAY above that in the 40's and 50's and things boomed and the rich made lots of money (as did everyone else). But the current economic crisis will alter the plan, IMO, and the dem fatcats will throw a bone to their wealthy patrons. C'est la vie. It will still be better than McBush's trickle down. (All this is assuming Obama wins, of course--and that hasn't happened yet!)

Well as of now I have heard Obama say anyone making under 250,000 will not see their taxes go up. Last night and just recently he said people making under 200,000. Biden in an interview set the bar at $150,000. So which one is it?

Hey, this is all about "Change," so who cares if we pick an actual number? In fact, if that target keeps moving, shifting and adjusting, I say "bravo" for the change!

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